Systematic Investigation of the Multifaceted Role of SOX11 in Cancer

Abstract

SRY-box transcription factor 11 (SOX11), as a member of the SOX family, is a transcription factor involved in the regulation of specific biological processes and has recently been found to be a prognostic marker for certain cancers. However, the roles of SOX11 in cancer remain controversial. Our study aimed to explore the various aspects of SOX11 in pan-cancer. The expression of SOX11 was investigated by the Genotype Tissue-Expression (GTEX) dataset and the Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. The protein level of SOX11 in tumor tissues and tumor-adjacent tissues was verified by human pan-cancer tissue microarray. Additionally, we used TCGA pan-cancer data to analyze the correlations among SOX11 expression and survival outcomes, clinical features, stemness, microsatellite instability (MSI), tumor mutation burden (TMB), mismatch repair (MMR) related genes and the tumor immune microenvironment. Furthermore, the cBioPortal database was applied to investigate the gene alterations of SOX11. The main biological processes of SOX11 in cancers were analyzed by Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA). As a result, aberrant expression of SOX11 has been implicated in 27 kinds of cancer types. Aberrant SOX11 expression was closely associated with survival outcomes, stage, tumor recurrence, MSI, TMB and MMR-related genes. In addition, the most frequent alteration of the SOX11 genome was mutation. Our study also showed the correlations of SOX11 with the level of immune infiltration in various cancers. In summary, our findings underline the multifaceted role and prognostic value of SOX11 in pan-cancer.

Hypomethylation‐associated Sox11 upregulation promotes oncogenesis via the PI3K/AKT pathway in OLP‐associated OSCC

“… 31 Multiple studies demonstrated that the aberrant expression of Sox11 is related to cancer progression and prognosis. 16 , 32 , 33 To investigate the role of Sox11 in OLP‐associated OSCC progression, we first evaluated the expression of Sox11 in normal oral mucosa ( n = 20), OLP ( n = 40), and OSCC tissues ( n = 120). Fortunately, we found that Sox11 expression was significantly elevated in OLP tissues relative to normal oral mucosa tissue samples, with further Sox11 upregulation in OSCC tissues relative to OLP tissues (Figure 1A ).…”

“…Sox11, a member of the SOX family, plays a regulatory role in specific biological processes 31 . Multiple studies demonstrated that the aberrant expression of Sox11 is related to cancer progression and prognosis 16,32,33 . To investigate the role of Sox11 in OLP‐associated OSCC progression, we first evaluated the expression of Sox11 in normal oral mucosa ( n = 20), OLP ( n = 40), and OSCC tissues ( n = 120).…”

Pan-Cancer Analysis Reveals SOX2 as a Promising Prognostic and Immunotherapeutic Biomarker Across Various Cancer Types, Including Pancreatic Cancer

“…Moreover, the promote an immune microenvironment, especially the infiltration of CD4+ T cells and macrophage immune cells 12 . For example, SOX11, a member of the same family as SOX2, is a novel tumor therapeutic target because of its immune infiltration potential 11 .…”

Andrographolide and Melatonin Synergistically Inhibit the Sox Proteins Expression in Colospheroids

“…Additionally, Sox4 overexpression is associated with lymph node metastasis in Tongue squamous cell carcinoma (TSCC) [14]. While the impact of Sox11 protein expression in cancer progression is controversial, recent research links dysfunctional expression with increased cancer cell survival, inhibited cell differentiation, and tumor progression [15,16], in contrast, a correlation between Sox-18 and CRC prognosis is reported [17].…”